Friday, February 11, 2011

Poetic License Horoscope Valentine to You (plus a song.)

Dear Readers,

I heart you so much, I’ll be your Valentine any year. May the stars spell out your every silly wish. XOXOXOX, Jane

Love and the Science Museum

(The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA)

Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19): At the science museum, there is a Cell Phone Disco. If you stop there and call someone, it records your phone’s signals in sparkling red lights. It’s beautiful and terrifying, kind of like communication itself.

Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20): To the Pisces who fixed her own fireplace: You stopped yourself from being suffocated. You purchased tools and parts. You restored your home to warmth and woodfire. You’re my absolute hero.

Taurus (April 19-May 18): “Electricity is the only thing fast enough to carry the messages that make us who we are.”-Dr. Rodolfo Llinàs, Neuroscientist.

Gemini(May 19-June 21): On the Earthquake Simulator, you can build a little structure with magnets and see how long it withstands the shaking. Reinforce the foundation and build low to the ground.

Cancer (June 22-July 23): “Chain reactions are beautiful. Like a ballet of falling dominoes, a finely tuned chain reaction seems to generate its own energy, powered by the tiniest push.” –Sign on the wall next to the Rube Goldberg machine.

Leo (July 24-Aug. 23): Black holes, though they may be the “Monsters of the Cosmos,” spew out matter as they suck it in. They seeded the universe with all the stuff we’re made of. Thanks, black holes!

Virgo (Aug. 24-Sept. 23): I should have known that the hallways inside the giant heart would be unnervingly narrow. There were movies of blood cells moving across the ceiling. Its pulse was faster than my own. A machine told me I have 35 cups of blood, and I believe it.

Libra (Sept. 24-Oct. 21): There is nothing quite as romantic as falling asleep to Radiolab. (You should go back and listen awake, though. It’s really good.) Let your dreams float in and out of posited situations, through language lost and love letters found.

Scorpio (Oct. 22-Nov. 22): There are many ways to get mild shocks at the science museum, including touching a key that simulates Ben Franklin’s famous lightning. Be careful what you touch, but watch for pretty revolutionary flashes.

Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 22): The Benjamin Franklin statue is surrounded by children’s hands-on experiments. Enlightening things are happening to Dixie cups, pencils, yeast. Start your own miniature experiment, see what eurekas you tonight just before sleep.

Capricorn (Dec. 23-Jan. 20): To the Capricorn giggling in the church aisle about a first date: ‎"Some cried out, they tried to take it to the streets/But I wanted it to be heard so I said it in the sheets"-Josh Martinez. Take the revolution to bed and make it your own.

Poetic License Horoscopesis a free syndicated series which appears weekly on such lit blogs as The Serotonin Factory, Critical Mass and The Legendary. If you are interested in adding the Poetic License Horoscopes to your lit journal / lit blog, please email me atserotoninfactory@gmail.com.